


Nameday

by Oricalle



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Crimson Flower Route, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Gift Fic, Memorials, Past Abuse, Post-Canon, References to Edelgard's backstory, Stuffed Toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22249291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oricalle/pseuds/Oricalle
Summary: On the fifth birthday of her beloved children, Edelgard honors the ones who set her on her path.A fic based on bergamot's "cutting down the family tree".
Relationships: A little bit of background, Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 18
Kudos: 158





	Nameday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bergamot (madocallie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madocallie/gifts).
  * Inspired by [cutting down the family tree](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20975714) by [bergamot (madocallie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madocallie/pseuds/bergamot). 



As the sun rose over Castle Enbarr on the fourth day of the Horsebow Moon, Edelgard found herself doing something she found she had no aptitude in. Namely, moving stealthily. Admittedly, she’d had experience creeping around before, during a period of her life she wasn’t fond of, but years of battlefield experience wearing steel greaves and even longer tromping around the castle in the over-decorated footwear of her official regalia left her steps heavy and her movements a tad uncertain.

So, on the approach into the dim bedroom, she found herself mimicking Petra’s movements. There was a natural grace to the Queen of Brigid that was both impressive in its beauty and infuriating in its simplicity. She didn’t seem to be making any noise at all, as she walked along to the right of Edelgard, squeezing into the door a few steps ahead.

Thankfully, Edelgard was at least not the loudest one in their group. That dubious honor had to go to Dorothea, who was barely containing her giggles at the apparent absurdity of the situation. Edelgard tried to shoot her a stern glare, but found her gaze blocked by the decorated gift boxes being held between them by Byleth.

When they had finally managed to enter the bedroom, miraculously uncompromised, Edelgard walked to the side of the lavish bed that was resting against the north wall. Byleth’s hand slipped into hers as she looked down at the unconscious forms of her beloved twin children.

Rupert was curled nearly into a ball, his curly brown hair disheveled against the pillow he held tightly to his chest. Annalise was sprawled across the mattress, taking up far more space than seemed possible for a four year old. Or a five year old, for that matter.

Smiling, Edelgard looked up at Dorothea and Petra on the other side of the bed. She caught the songstress’ eye and nodded. Dorothea grinned, sucked in air, and began to sing.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!”

As Rupert and Annalise groggily woke, quickly shifting to excitedly gasping and scrambling upright like only children their age could, the other three adults joined in the song, though Dorothea was still by far the loudest.

“Momma and Mommy, look!” Annalise said, eyes wide. “It’s Aunt Thea and Aunt Petra!”

“Oh, but it is not our special day!” Petra swooped her arms over the bed, hugging each of the twins. “It is your birthday!”

“Uh huh!” Rupert was nodding excitedly, crawling across the bed on his knees to press himself against Edelgard’s stomach. “It is!”

With the song concluded, Dorothea had joined Petra in excitedly embracing the twins. “Oh my...” she said, grinning like a hungry wolf. “Would you just look at what Byleth is carrying!”

Joyful squeals filled the air as Annalise whirled around, her eyes sparkling. “Rupert, look! Mommy brought presents!”

“Pressies…” Rupert whispered, the top of his head nearly flat with Byleth’s stomach as he looked up at her in awe. The twins scampered to the head of the bed as Byleth dropped each of the hefty boxes onto it. Each was wrapped in colorful paper, with a ribbon tied carefully around its lid.

“These are from me and your Momma.” Byleth said, a smile rising slightly to her face. “The red one is for Rupert, and the green one is for Annalise.”

“Red is my favowite!”

Edelgard giggled. “I know, Rupert.”

For a few moments, the children sat there, simply staring at the boxes. Annalise had her hands raised, and Edelgard was reminded of a racehorse tilting towards the starting gate.

“Well, we don’t have all day, go at it!” Dorothea cheered, and the Hresvelg children were off. Shards of brightly colored paper and glittering ribbon were scattered across the sheets, and Edelgard made a mental note to apologize to the castle maids in advance. Eventually, the carnage subsided, and the twins began digging through their gifts. Rupert reached inside and pulled the contents out, one by one, while Annalise quickly seemed to grow frustrated of the wrappings and dumped her entire box onto the bedspread.

Cheery gasps and joyful squeals filled the air as the twins looked over their gifts. A total of ten felt stuffed animals now lay across the bed. For Rupert, there was a ferret, an owl, a pegasus, a griffin, and a red butterfly. For Annalise, a cat, a chipmunk, an eagle, a bear, and a yellow butterfly.

“Stuffies…” whispered Rupert, awe in his voice.

“Hooray!” Annalise cheered, hugging the bear tightly. “Oh, thank you so, so, so, so, so, so, so much!”

“You’re welcome, dears.” Edelgard said. She took Byleth’s hand in hers and beamed, resting her head on her wife’s shoulder.

“Happy birthday, kids.” Byleth added. She nuzzled her cheek against Edelgard’s hair.

“There awe…” Rupert started, pausing a moment before continuing. “Lots of aminals.”

Dorothea chuckled. “Looks like it!”

Petra was rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she surveyed the bedspread. “My, it will be quite difficult to be naming them all.”

“Name the aminals?” Rupert asked, his eyes wide. Annalise looked over as well, the bear still resting against her chest as she used her hands to make the butterfly and eagle fly around.

“Of course!” Petra gave the children a quizzical look, noting the same coming from Edelgard. “Is it not common in Adrestia to be naming one’s toys? It is very popular in Brigid.”

Edelgard hummed. She had taken extensive courses on Adrestian history, of course, and as Emperor, she prided herself on knowledge of her homeland, but her education had focused on fierce warriors and gifted artists. The trends regarding children’s toys were not something she thought she’d ever be asked about.

“Well,” Dorothea added, “I didn’t have many toys growing up. But I was given a stuffed bird once, and I loved it. I named it Feathers.”

“Perhaps we’re behind the times, then.” Edelgard mused. “I can’t recall ever naming a stuffy, nor seeing any of my siblings do so.”

She noticed Byleth’s grip on her hand grow just a little tighter.

“Momma? You can name our stuffies!” Annalise said. Rupert nodded in agreement.

“Oh, dearest, don’t worry. They are your gifts! You may certainly name them, don’t worry about me.” Edelgard replied. Below her, Rupert shook his head.

“I...I want you to name mine. It’s special…” he said. 

“Yeah! Mommy says you love making up fun names!” Annalise chirped. To her right, she could hear Byleth sigh.

“That is true, El.”

Edelgard sighed slightly. “Very well, then. Let’s see here...which would you like me to name first, then?”

A pair of stuffed butterflies were thrust in Edelgard’s direction. Annalise was using her outstretched fingers to make the wings on her yellow one flap. Edelgard narrowed her eyes and began to think.

She thought of spring mornings spent at the palace (Spring and Summer?), thought of the flowers that bloomed around Garreg Mach (Petunia and Rose?), thought of her childhood and watching her siblings play in the garden (Brigitta and-)

A wave of emotion hit Edelgard in the chest. It was a familiar feeling, yet one that remained indescribable. It contained a great pain, one that had festered over the years of her life. There was a searing anger, a flame that she had once thought would burn all of her away, coupled with a sadness that had once wrenched tears from her eyes fit to drown all of Enbarr in a flood. However, there was something else buried in the back of it, what was once a lingering whisper that had evolved into a pulsing, warm, legitimate, joy.

She decided to embrace that.

Edelgard pointed to the yellow butterfly.

“Her name is Brigitta.”

She moved to the red one.

“His name is Roth.”

Dorothea whistled. “My, Edie, those are lovely names! Much more creative than “Feathers”...”

Before Edelgard could respond, another two animals were raised towards her, with four beaming eyes looking up beneath them.

She pointed to the griffin. “Frederick.”

And then to the chipmunk. “Hannelore.”

“Frederick looks very strong.” Rupert muttered, pulling the toy to his chest.

“He is.” Edelgard said. She leaned over the bed and began to sift through the other stuffed animals, examining each with white-gloved hands.

“This owl seems very smart. I’ll bet she could tell you a lot of very interesting things!” She smiled. “Her name is Gisela.”

“This cat is handsome and proud. Clearly the sort who likes to strut about, but maybe a little skittish.” Edelgard chuckled. “Stefan, then. Certainly a Stefan.”

“Steffy the Stuffy!” Annalise shouted. She pulled the cat back, petting his head. “I love you, Steffy.”

Edelgard lifted the pegasus up, letting it soar about Rupert’s head. “This is a very special pegasus. She’s very brave and strong, and she never lets anyone boss her around. She’s Clarimonde.”

“Clari...cwarimon…” Rupert pouted, his trouble speaking catching up to him. Edelgard gave him a comforting pat on the head.

“I’m sure she won’t mind “Clara” either, sweet one.”

Annalise was pointing to the eagle now, her eyes wide. “This one is on your cape!”

“It is!” Edelgard smiled. “He’s very proud, but very strong. I’m sure if he could talk, he’d want to help Momma with her work. Sounds like a Leonard to me.”

Her work nearly finished, Edelgard scooped the remaining animals into her hands, giving them each a light squeeze as she looked them over.

“This ferret is small, but he’s fast, and surprisingly strong for his size!” She dropped the plush onto Rupert’s head, eliciting a giggle. “Wallace. Wallace the ferret.” With a smile, she pulled the bear close to her. “And this one. She’s doting, she’s kind, and she cares for all of the other animals.” Edelgard blinked back the tears forming in the backs of her eyes. “Her name is Adelaide. She’ll take very good care of you, Annalise.”

The little girl took the bear into her arms and gave it a kiss on the forehead.

“New fwiends.” Rupert said, nodding. He pressed the griffin’s beak to Edelgard’s forehead. “Fwederick says he loves Momma.”

For the first time in many years, a tear fell from Edelgard’s eye for her siblings, but not for the reasons they always had before.

“Momma knows.”

After a few more minutes of playing with the stuffed animals, the sun had fully risen over Castle Enbarr, and Dorothea beckoned towards the window.

“Alright, up and at ‘em, kiddos. Your Uncle Ferdie is getting some horses ready to take you both on a ride for your birthday!”

“Yay!” Annalise leapt out of bed, jumping up again once she reached the floor. “Let’s go!” Rupert seemed a bit more hesitant, slowly crawling towards the edge of the mattress as he carefully climbed down. 

“What about Mistaw Hoobee?”

Dorothea’s eyes widened. “Do...do you mean Hubert?”

Edelgard chuckled. “Hubert was worried that they wouldn’t understand he’s not really their uncle if they kept calling him “Uncle Hubert”, so he tried to correct them. Rupert misheard him and he’s paying for it. He’ll be joining us at dinner time, Rupert.”

“Oh. Ohh.” Dorothea’s wolflike grin returned. “You have given me a wonderful gift today, Rupert. Trust me.”

“Come on, children! We must be hurrying!” Petra took the twins’ hands in her own and began to jog out the door, leaving them both sprinting and giggling in their attempts to keep pace with the much taller Queen of Brigid. Dorothea lingered in the doorframe, watching as Edelgard sat on the bed, Byleth sinking in next to her.

“Are you two coming?”

Edelgard nodded. “We will. I just...believe I need a moment.”

Nodding her assent, Dorothea left as well, and the bedroom was quiet. Only the sounds of Byleth’s breathing and a few hushed gasps from Edelgard were audible in the crisp morning air.

“Those were your siblings, weren’t they?” Byleth asked. When Edelgard nodded, she felt herself being pulled close, feeling the warmth of Byleth’s chest and hearing the sound of her heartbeat. “You’ve never told me all of their names before.”

Edelgard shook her head, watching as a damp spot on the comforter below her grew. “I apologize. I suppose it’s just always been...very difficult.”

Byleth hummed her understanding, and Edelgard began to line the stuffed animals up in front of her. She went in order, with Hannelore the chipmunk first and Adelaide the bear taking the final spot.

“I think they’d be proud of the woman you became.” Byleth whispered. “I know I am.”

Warmth bloomed in Edelgard’s chest. “Thank you. I hope they’re watching over the twins, somehow.”

“Well, of course they are.” Byleth’s hand reached out and began to pat each of the animals in turn. “They’re right here, aren’t they?”

Later that evening, after the kids had been put to bed, Edelgard made her way to their bedroom once more. They lay there, huddled together with their new stuffies. Rupert had his arms wrapped tightly around Frederick the Griffin, while Annalise clutched Adelaide the Bear close. A smile found its way to the emperor’s face as she looked over the faces assembled in the bed, both sleepy and furry.

“I love you all so much.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to do another fluffy piece with the cast I used for "Chase The Night Away", but include Edelgard's siblings. When I think of them, I think of the wonderful characters used in one of my favorite fics, the heart-rending "cutting down the family tree".
> 
> So I decided to make this fic both a reference to that story and a gift to its author. Thank you for both the inspiration and the many, many times you've been kind to me or just been wonderful to talk to, Mado!
> 
> (Hey, psst. You. If you're reading this and also waiting for Luck of the Draw, I'm sorry to say I've been a little ill lately and haven't really had the stamina to write as much as I would like to. My apologies for the wait.)


End file.
